Cherrelle Cruz, 25, is in intensive care after colliding with an officer who was just recognized with a Medal of Valor.

Jun. 6, 2013

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A Fort Collins cyclist with serious neck damage is in intensive care after getting hit by an on-duty police cruiser outside a grocery store shortly after midnight Thursday.

Cherrelle Cruz, 25, “basically clotheslined on the handlebars,” said her girlfriend Candis Padilla, who spoke with Cruz after the crash. “She has a broken voicebox and a tear to the esophagus.”

Fort Collins police are investigating the incident, which occurred as Cruz was riding on the sidewalk at a driveway entrance to the King Soopers on 2602 S. Timberline Road when officer William Biberos was leaving the parking lot westbound toward Timberline. As Biberos entered the crosswalk, they collided, and Cruz was knocked to the ground, according to a news release from Fort Collins Police Services.

Padilla says Cruz told her the officer rolled through a stop sign while using the vehicle’s on-board computer.

“He hit her right side. Her whole right leg is messed up, too,” she said, adding that Cruz has to use a feeding tube and “they’re talking about permanent voice damage.”

Police haven’t yet confirmed whether any distractions contributed to the crash, officer Drew Jurkofsky said in an e-mail. Jurkofsky is involved with the investigation

“Part of our investigation will certainly include whether cell phone usage, texting or the officer’s laptop contributed to the crash,” he said.

Cruz was not wearing a helmet and had no front light on her bike. She first believed her injuries were minor, and as a precaution she was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital to be checked. She was later determined to have suffered serious injuries when she had fallen onto her bicycle, according to the news release. She was transferred to Medical Center of the Rockies.

Padilla said Cruz had a puncture wound to her neck and insisted to medics that something was wrong. Further investigation revealed a hole in her esophagus caused by hitting the handlebars, she said.

Cruz and Padilla have two daughters; Amhia, 5, and 4-month-old Audreama. Cruz was on her way home from working closing duties at McDonald’s as a cashier when she was hit. She’d been on work release from Larimer County Alternative Sentencing Department, where she was serving a sentence for misdemeanor theft, and she was headed back there.

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“She’s been working hard,” Padilla said. “She was two weeks from coming home to me and the kiddies.”

Biberos has been placed on paid administrative leave while the crash investigation continues.

On Wednesday afternoon, he received the highest honor at the annual police awards ceremony. He was given the Medal of Valor for efforts to save a man’s life in a fiery car crash last August. He’s been with the agency three years, is an EMT and previously served as a U.S. Army combat medic.

On Thursday morning, the King Soopers driveway was closed for about 6 ½ hours as investigators processed the scene. The investigation continues, and charges are pending, according to police.

“Police do not believe alcohol or speed contributed to the collision,” according to the news release.

Anyone with information is asked to call officer Jurkofsky at (970) 221-6555.

Padilla said Cruz isn’t her only loved one to be hit by a Fort Collins police car in the past few years. Her cousin Landis Wadena suffered serious injuries in October 2010 when he was hit while on foot outside a crosswalk on College Avenue near Columbia Road.

“How many people in the world can say they know two people hit by a cop car in the same county?” she said.